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Senator Grisanti supports the concept of Black Rock Canal Park to help remedy the many deficiencies in the current designs of the Ontario Street Boat Launch as well as the south end of the park.

Phase I work represents a collaboration of community, city, county, state and federal entities working together to improve the waterfront and create a regional asset.

A formal announcement and celebration was recently held at the Ontario Street Boat Launch. The press conference occurred during the second annual Ride Along the Waterfront, a yearly event that encourages people to come out and enjoy the Niagara River with a bike ride, kayak paddle and Wellness Fair.

New York State added 14,100 private sector jobs to its economy last month, according to the latest figures from the State Labor Department. That job growth amounted to .2 percent and was not enough to budge the state’s overall unemployment rate.

New York’s unemployment rate held steady at eight percent in July. The national unemployment rate was 9.1 percent for the same period. The number of unemployed New Yorkers looking for work did go down from 759,900 in June to 756,600 last month, according to the State Labor Department.

Dozens of groups across New York want more time to review the state’s proposed “fracking” rules.

76 organizations representing thousands of residents signed a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Department of Environmental Conservation urging them to extend the public comment period.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is supporting groups request, including State Senator Mark Grisanti.

“The public itself doesn’t have time to review it,” Grisanti told WNED News.

The DEC’s draft regulations for the controversial natural gas drilling process weigh in at more than a thousand pages and the public, right now, will get 60 days to review the complex document and respond.

Grisanti is Chair of the Senate’s Environmental Conservation Committee.

“This nearly $10 million in funds for the Buffalo Public Schools represents a positive step towards rehabilitating the affected schools. However, this funding is just a minor step in transforming these schools. It is only through collaborative work between all stakeholders that true and needed changes can be made to reform the school district. We continue to pledge to meet and work with each of these stake holders to reform the Buffalo Public Schools so that our children can receive a quality education.”

LaSalle makes up a distinct part of the city’s fabric. Home to the city’s only branch library, a community organization and proud, vocal residents, the neighborhood has been missing one key component:

A park where residents will finally have access to the undeveloped shoreline of the Niagara River.

“The LaSalle neighborhood has rediscovered itself,” Mayor Paul A. Dyster said today in LaSalle Waterfront Park. “It’s rediscovered its history, which is a history that is closely linked with the waterfront.”

Dyster joined Sen. Mark Grisanti, R-Buffalo, and other local and state officials today to officially break ground on the park, though chainsaws and chippers have already been blaring.

Richard Raines wasn’t looking to become a community activist. But a series of car break-ins, burglaries, and muggings that plagued North Buffalo last fall motivated the Wellington Road homeowner to reach out to leaders of several neighborhood organizations and eventually establish the North Buffalo Coalition (NBC).

"This nearly $10 million in funds for the Buffalo Public Schools represents a positive step towards rehabilitating the affected schools. However, this funding is just a minor step in transforming these schools. It is only through collaborative work between all stakeholders that true and needed changes can be made to reform the school district. We continue to pledge to meet and work with each of these stake holders to reform the Buffalo Public Schools so that our children can receive a quality education."

All six state senators from Western New York--Senator Mark Grisanti, Senator George Maziarz, Senator Patrick Gallivan, Senator Timothy Kennedy, Senator Michael Ranzenhofer, and Senator Cathy Young--have joined together to release the following statement in support of the signing of the NYSUNY 2020 legislation (S.5855-A/A.8519) into law: We began the year by working together, across party lines, for the future of public higher education in Western New York, particularly at our university center—the University at Buffalo. Eight months later, after are markably productive legislative session, we are still working together for that same goal.

Five more bills were signed into law by Governor Cuomo this week sponsored by Senator Mark Grisanti. “ I am honored as a freshman Senator to now have 15 bills signed into law that I have sponsored,” said Sen. Grisanti.

Senator Mark Grisanti (R-60th District) and Assemblyman John Ceretto (R,I-Lewiston) have introduced legislation to increase revenues collected from Tribal casinos by local municipalities. The legislation, which amends the Tribal State Compact, allows municipalities to collect up to 50 percent of the net drop from electronic gaming devices. Under current law, municipalities may only collect up to 25 percent of the net drop from these machines.

New Law Protects Children by Banning TRIS Flame Retardant, a known Cancer-Causing Substance, from Child Care Products

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced he will sign a law to prohibit the sale of child care products containing the flame retardant chemical TRIS which has been known to cause cancer in test animals and has been banned for decades from children’s clothing.

A year ago, New York’s 60th State Senate District was occupied — barely — by Democrat Antoine Thompson, who thought his position entitled him to milk the public for all it was worth: swelling his office’s patronage staff; sending more than 1 million pieces of self-promotional bulk mail at a taxpayer cost of more than $400,000; voting one way but claiming to have voted the other; taking $8,600 in donations in the AEG casino bidding scandal. And more.

Things change. Today, that seat is held by Republican Mark Grisanti, who, with the help of Senate leadership, just ended his first six months in office with a whirlwind of notable accomplishments. The difference could hardly be more stark. Consider:

“Tonight, I joined my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to legalize same sex marriage in New York State. Since I began my term as Senator I have met with many people on both sides of this issue, read numerous documents and independent studies. Given the high stakes, I felt I owed it to everyone to make a well-informed decision. I have come to believe that all New Yorkers should be entitled to the same 1324 rights that come with a civil marriage. As an attorney I analyzed the legislation and concluded that the amendments provide critical exemptions for religious institutions. Passage of this bill now rather than later ensures that these protections be included. I cannot deny anyone in my district and across New York the same rights I have

The New York State Senate today passed historic property tax relief legislation that enacts a cap on the growth of local property taxes.

The bill (S.5856), sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos, will cap school and local government taxes to less than two percent or the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is lower. Mandate relief is also included, with $127 million in savings to local governments, in addition to the creation of a Mandate Relief Council to identify and repeal unsound, unduly burdensome laws and regulations.

The New York State Senate today passed legislation to establish the NY-SUNY 2020 Challenge Grant program that includes capital funds for investments in economic expansion and job creation at the four SUNY University Centers, as well as a predictable and rational plan for SUNY tuition that will allow students and families to plan for tuition costs.

Senator Grisanti sponsored (S.5855) the bill and this represents a three-way agreement among the Governor, Senate and Assembly.